


Déjà Goose

by Meatball42



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Untitled Goose Game (Video Game)
Genre: Goat Herder Bucky Barnes, Pining, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-24 12:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21099395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42
Summary: A goose interrupts Steve failing to ask Bucky out.





	Déjà Goose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [seinmit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/seinmit/gifts).

Steve was sitting on the bed in Bucky’s hut in the Wakandan hills. He was visiting in between missions. He was waiting for Bucky to finish cooking their dinner. And he was also trying to figure out how to approach the question, “Do you remember when we used to sneak into the woods on the Western Front to have sex where our squad couldn’t hear us, and would you want to do something like that again, except also go on a date with me?”

There had to be a better way to phrase that.

But asking people out wasn’t Steve’s strong suit, and especially not people he cared about as much as he cared about Bucky. Instead, he talked about traveling with Natasha and Sam, and he asked about the friends Bucky had made in Wakanda, and he looked around Bucky’s home, as though it might offer some insight into how he should lead up to his very important question.

That was when he noticed the goose.

The plot of land T’Challa had arranged for Bucky was farmland. Bucky had been planting and harvesting his garden, caring for a few goats, fishing. There were ducks down by the lake, and chickens that Bucky kept away from the house, but Steve had never noticed a goose.

“Got some new livestock?” he asked.

The goose waddled up to him. Steve leaned away. He might be a super soldier, but he’d seen what a goose bite looked like and wasn’t interested in experiencing it firsthand.

Bucky looked up from the _ wat _ on the stovetop. He smiled slightly at the goose. “Never seen it before.” Then he went back to stirring the pot and adding things in.

The goose untied Steve’s boot.

Steve waved a hand at it and it flapped at him, then waddled over to the bedside table. Steve retied his boot while watching it curiously.

The goose seemed to inspect the things Bucky’d left on the table. It carefully picked up a picture frame.

“Hey,” Steve said, hoping to get the thing’s attention. Instead, it went for the door.

Steve got up to intercept. He grabbed the picture frame carefully and batted at the goose’s long neck with the other hand. It fought him for a moment, tugging back on the frame and flapping its wings, but let go after a minute, ruffling its feathers in indignation and going back to casually poking around the room.

Shaking him head, Steve put the picture frame back where it belonged. The goose was looking at Bucky’s socks, now, hanging on a drying rack in the corner.

“This goose is trying to steal your things,” he told Bucky.

Bucky had barely looked up while Steve was fighting on behalf of his possessions. He looked up now, but just shrugged. “It’s not hurting anyone.”

The goose came over and tried to look into the stewpot. With the arm Shuri had made for him, Bucky gently pushed the goose away.

It jumped, honked, and tried again.

Bucky kept nudging it, calmly and with the same little smile, until it lost interest and went over to tug on the blanket Steve was sitting on.

Now Steve was annoyed because this thing had made Bucky smile more than he’d been able to since he arrived.

“You really don’t care about this? Hey, no!”

The goose managed to tear the blanket. Steve’s quick swipe startled it into letting go.

“I’ve got some good memories of cohabiting with a stubborn little asshole,” Bucky said casually.

Steve got the blanket away from the goose’s grasp, then really heard what Bucky’d said.

When he glared across the room, he saw Bucky smiling at him, for real. A big smile that reminded Steve of the way he’d been before everything, back in Brooklyn. It wasn't exactly the same, though. Now, Bucky had soft-looking, long hair and crinkles around his eyes, and when he smiled it looked tired and content.

Steve was so caught up in staring at Bucky that he didn’t notice the goose approaching the door, or peering at the control panel on the wall, or striking out with its powerful jaw.

He did hear the alarm go off, and turned to see the goose scoot out of the building right before a force field leaped up over the door.

Bucky put down the ladle and strode to the door. With a few quick touches he silenced the alarm, but he frowned at the panel, swiping things around.

Steve figured that Bucky had it under control, so he went to stir the _ wat. _

“Looks like it managed to trip the panic button. We’re gonna be stuck inside until someone comes out from the palace. Since it was a false alarm, they might not get here until tomorrow afternoon.”

Bucky's lips twisted apologetically. Steve looked down at the stewpot so that he wouldn’t stare.

“I think I can live with that.”


End file.
